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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Leaders must be men and women who influence others to enable them to become more effective. In her essay <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/10/05/five-principles-to-follow-if-you-want-to-influence-others/#3e6125c26e29" target="_blank">Five Principles to Follow If You Want to Influence Others</a>,<sup>1 </sup>Amy Glass, writes “No matter your role, influence is key to solving problems and making things happen. … [T]his means persuading people to help you affect change, implement key decisions and create buy-in around your ideas.” Influence is often contrasted to manipulation which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means to “<a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/manipulate" target="_blank">control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly of unscrupulously</a>.” Influence is <strong>not </strong>manipulation.<br />
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In the MOR Leaders Programs, the topic of influence is first introduced as an outcome of <a href="https://www.morassociates.com/sites/default/files/portal/morbuildingrelationshipsarticle.pdf" target="_blank">building relationships</a>.<sup>2 </sup>Since leadership is not a solo activity, by investing time in building and maintaining relationships you create built-in networks of individuals available to support you in your endeavors. However, your leadership will often need to range far beyond the group you lead or your existing networks. Thus, our circle of influence needs to extend beyond those individuals who are included in our formal networks.<br />
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It’s often been said that “a leader is always on stage.” That means that the leader is often in a position of positively or negatively influencing the behavior of others. If, for example, I’m seen by others as <strong>not </strong>delivering on my commitments or taking ethical short-cuts, they may think negatively of me and be less likely to be positively influenced to support or become involved in my initiatives in the future. Or, they may be influenced by my actions and take short-cuts themselves. Neither of these is helpful.<br />
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Dan Pink, author and speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, writes, in his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Human-Surprising-Moving-Others/dp/1594631905" target="_blank"><em>To Sell Is Human</em></a><em>,</em><sup>3 </sup>that leaders spend 40% of their day, directly or indirectly, influencing. If we spend this much of our time in this activity, we should work to get really good at it. Amy Glass<sup>1 </sup>suggests five key principles we should be employing to become really good.</p>
<ol><li><strong>Influence is a persuasive process. </strong>Note the word process. It doesn’t, or only very rarely, happen all at once. It may involve building a long-lasting relationship, taking the time to understand others’ perspectives, developing clarity about what you and they want. We need to take the time to get to know the people we encounter, paying attention to what they care about. Consider the different points of view we encounter. And, be very clear as to what you want. Influence is the result of this ongoing persuasive process. Most encounters we have are not “once and done.” So, make your encounters with others positive so that the next time you need to engage with this individual or group of individuals they will want to work with you.</li>
<li><strong>Influence is a product of trust. </strong>The primary way to establish trust is to promise something and then deliver on that promise. This behavior, on your part, needs to be on-going, not a one-time thing. </li>
<li><strong>Listen to what those you are trying to influence have to say. </strong>Take the time to understand where others are coming from, both what they are thinking and feeling. To do this you have to ask <a href="https://www.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/good-questions" target="_blank">good questions</a>.<sup>4 </sup>Asking insightful questions will help those you are trying to influence feel that you value their points of view, that you are listening to them, and seeking to understand them.</li>
<li><strong>You will need to communicate persuasively. </strong>This includes talking about the current state, establishing the need to address a problem or to make a change. Once you understand the need you have to develop a solution. And, you need to visualize what the benefits will be.</li>
<li><strong>Influence is all about solving problems. </strong>It is not about winning. If you are seen as a problem solver, your credibility will be improved, and your circle of potential influence expanded.</li>
</ol><p> <br />
Brent Gleeson, Navy SEAL, author, and speaker, has a similar list in his essay, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2016/07/06/leadership-and-the-7-is-for-influencing-others/#4c075a7231a7" target="_blank">Leadership and the 7 I’s for Influencing Others</a>”<sup>5</sup></p>
<ol><li><strong>Identify the results you want. </strong>Once you know the results, work backwards from there.</li>
<li><strong>Illustrate your credibility. </strong>Those you are trying to influence need to see evidence that you are credible.</li>
<li>Invest the time necessary to <strong>get to know the people you need to influence</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Invite them to share their ideas</strong>. “The team’s voice must be heard in order to create a learning culture and continually improve overall performance.”</li>
<li><strong>Investigate options that lead to common ground</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Intend an outcome that meets everyone’s needs.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Improvise as needed. </strong>“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Preparation and adaptation are more important than all the planning that you must first do.</li>
</ol><p>The suggestions that Amy Glass and Brent Gleeson propose you take will help you become more influential. Said even more simply, begin to take more interest in the people around you. Let them know that you know they exist. Smile. Say hello, or good morning/afternoon. Engage in conversation at the coffee machine or in the hallways. Let people get to know you. Be genuinely interested in them. Build casual and deep relationships. Be interested in what others are working on.<br />
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All this will enable you to become more influential, be seen more as a leader, and make renewed progress along your leadership journey.<br />
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Make it a great week for you and your team. . . . jim<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
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References:</p>
<ol><li>Amy Glass, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/10/05/five-principles-to-follow-if-you-want-to-influence-others/#3e6125c26e29" target="_blank">Five Principles to Follow If You Want to Influence Others</a>, Forbes Coaching Council Blog, October 2018.</li>
<li>Brian McDonald, <a href="https://www.morassociates.com/sites/default/files/portal/morbuildingrelationshipsarticle.pdf" target="_blank">Building Relationships – The Four I’s: Initiate, Inquire, Invest, and Influence</a>, MOR Associates, Inc.</li>
<li>Dan Pink, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sell-Human-Surprising-Moving-Others/dp/1594631905" target="_blank"><em>To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others</em></a><em>, Penguin Random House, 2013.</em></li>
<li>Jim Bruce <a href="https://www.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/good-questions" target="_blank">Good Questions</a>, Tuesday Reading, MOR Associates, Inc., June 2018.</li>
<li>Brent Gleeson, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2016/07/06/leadership-and-the-7-is-for-influencing-others/#7b7aeb6d31a7" target="_blank">Leadership and the 7I’s for Influencing Others</a>, Forbes blogs, June 2016.</li>
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Tue, 19 Mar 2019 11:09:32 +0000Jim Bruce7210 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/becoming-influential#commentsWhy Should We Ask Questions?http://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/why-should-we-ask-questions
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Kids ask questions in order to learn about the world in which they live. And, sometimes they will answer their own question to show-off what they know – for example, my great-granddaughter holding out a stuffed rabbit and saying “rabbit” – and sometimes they want you to tell them. As they grow older, their questions may give you an opportunity to propose additional questions they might be asking.<br />
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For example, Mary Thérèse Durr, a Boston College alum of the leaders program, tells the story of her then 11-year old daughter asking if she could date. The daughter expected an immediate, emphatic “NO.” Instead, MT asked, “What does ‘dating’ mean?” “Talking in the halls and sometimes holding hands” which yielded the response “Yes.” Years later, walking downstairs to go to school in a “short, short, short” skirt, MT asked, “Do you think that’s a good skirt to wear to school?” Defiantly, her daughter answered “yes.” And, all day at school she was uncomfortable wearing that very short skirt. “She never wore it again.”<br />
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For children, it’s helpful in their development for them to hear examples of the questions that they might ask themselves and others as they grow, learn, and develop. This is also equally valuable for adults. Asking questions of yourself will cause you to pause and make sure you’ve taken all aspects of the issue at hand into consideration.<br />
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Now, kids are much better at asking questions than are adults. No matter where they are or who they are with, they are always asking questions. Mark Suster,<sup>1 </sup>entrepreneur turned venture capitalist reports that it’s estimated that 70-80% of kids’ dialogue is question-driven. Some studies have shown that they ask an average of 300 questions a day with a 4-year old averaging 400.<sup>2 </sup>Yet, their parent’s, and other adults’, dialogues are only 15-20% question-driven. And, this low percentage appears to be true in all aspects of an adult’s life.<br />
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Why is it that when we get older, we stop asking questions? Could it be that:</p>
<ul><li>We are afraid to ask.</li>
<li>We believe that we already have the answers – “status quo is the way to go.”</li>
<li>It’s wise never to challenge decisions.</li>
<li>We don’t want to take the time.</li>
<li>We don’t want to look dumb by asking.</li>
<li>We believe we know all we need to know about the subject.</li>
<li>“I just do what I’m told to do.”</li>
</ul><p> <br />
Yet, great inventors, scientists, and leaders focused more on questions than answers: Sir Isaac Newton asked, “Why does an apple fall from a tree?” Einstein asked, “What would the universe look like if I rode through it on a beam of light?” Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and Alphabet, said “We run this company on questions, not answers.”<br />
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So, while we may not aspire to be this profound, what might we do so that we ask more questions and help our team members ask more questions, as well? Here are four suggestions from Steve Goldstein<sup>3 </sup>and Tanveer Nasser.<sup>4</sup></p>
<ol><li><strong> Lead by Example</strong>. Goldstein<sup>3 </sup>points out that the best way to teach is by example. Throughout history, great leaders have taught by showing or doing, and not by telling. He notes that when you are seen asking questions, questions about “how” and “why,” and not about an individual’s intentions, colleagues will begin to feel more comfortable answering and will begin to ask similar questions of others. And, when you as a leader are willing to admit you don’t have the answer, you empower others to also admit, when they don’t know, that they don’t know.</li>
<li><strong>Focus on Initiative</strong>. If we remember why we stopped asking – fear, desire to not look dumb or silly, don’t want to challenge a previous decision, etc. – it helps us focus on a team member’s initiative in asking and not just on the value of the question.<sup>4 </sup>So, it’s O.K. if someone chooses to ask a “safe” question. By acknowledging and appreciating the interest shown by asking a question, you help provide an atmosphere where others will feel empowered to ask about other ideas and concerns. It’s been said that “the only bad question is the one not asked.”<sup>5</sup></li>
<li><strong>Listen to what’s being asked</strong>. All too often the individual responding to a question talks around the subject and fails to answer it. Nasser says that this is the result of a greater focus on formulating an answer to what they thought they were going to be asked than the actual question. When this happens, accept what you heard and take them back to the question you actually asked. By doing this, you encourage the behavior you expect rather than excuse the behavior you experienced.</li>
<li><strong>Be patient. Time and Practice Is Key</strong>. Just because most of us have abandoned the habit of asking questions, it does not mean that we’ve lost the ability. Asking questions, listening to the question being asked, and responding are a set of practices, ones that are extremely important to each individual being able to do his or her work most effectively. We know that building new practices and restoring ones that have fallen into disuse will take time. Doing this needs to be a priority, encouraging greater participation and involvement of everyone in the work that is being done. Developing an environment where questions from everyone are expected and encouraged will provide unique insights and understandings that will make each individual’s and their organization/s work more effective.</li>
</ol><p> <br />
It’s important that we each learn how to ask questions that are effective, that inspire us to think in new ways, to expand our range of vision, and to enable us to more effectively contribute to the endeavors in which we are involved. Perhaps you’ll take some time to reflect on this and begin this new practice today. And, as a check, you might ask yourself at the end of the day, what was the most important question you <strong>didn’t </strong>ask that day and why did you not ask that question.<br />
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Make it a great week you and those you lead.<br />
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. . . . jim<br />
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<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
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<br /><strong>References and Notes:</strong></p>
<ol><li>Mark Suster, <a href="https://bothsidesofthetable.com/asking-questions-more-effectively-5e6974e1064c" target="_blank">Asking Questions More Effectively</a>. </li>
<li>Telegraph Staff, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9959026/Mothers-asked-nearly-300-questions-a-day-study-finds.html" target="_blank">Mothers Asked Nearly 300 Questions a Day, Study Finds</a>, The Telegraph, March 2019.</li>
<li>Steve Goldstein, <a href="http://stevendgoldstein.com/engaged-workplace/" target="_blank">How to Get People to Ask Questions</a>, Steve Goldstein Blog. </li>
<li>Tanveer Nasser, <a href="https://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/tanveernaseer/how-to-encourage-your-employees-to-ask-more-questions-011311" target="_blank">How to Encourage Your Employees to Ask More Question</a>s, Toolbox | HR, 2011.</li>
<li>While it’s often been said that “the only bad question is the one not asked,” there are questions that stifle discussion and have a negative effect on others, and these should be avoided.</li>
</ol><p> </p>
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Tue, 12 Mar 2019 11:09:32 +0000Jim Bruce7115 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/why-should-we-ask-questions#commentsFeedback is a Gifthttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/feedback-gift
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><em>Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by John E. Hill, Instructional Technologies Specialist at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. His essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection earlier this year. [John may be reached at &lt;</em><a href="mailto:jeh24@cornell.edu" target="_blank">jeh24@cornell.edu</a><em>&gt;.]</em><br />
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Several weeks ago, I needed to have a difficult talk with an employee. (I’ll call him “Bob”). With the usual dread, I began to plan what I would say to Bob and how I would say it. Then the realization – I have tools to help me with this. Feedback is a gift! In fact, giving feedback is one of my goals for the leader’s program I’m now participating in. I want to become better at giving feedback, <strong>so that</strong> others around me know that I’m paying attention, know that I care about what they are doing and have an accurate understanding of what I expect or need for our mutual success.<br />
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You’ll notice that my goal focuses on giving feedback, because I find this so much harder than receiving feedback. I think I do a pretty good job at <em>receiving</em> feedback – at least that’s what people tell me. (A little feedback joke, there.) However, I’ve never felt comfortable giving feedback for fear of hurting feelings or being afraid of what people will think of me. So, I felt relieved that I could frame the situation differently. I could <strong>ask </strong>if Bob would like some feedback about the situation. I’d be positive, be specific, be descriptive, and be timely.<br />
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Before I tell you how it went, I want to bring up how this shows how much I (really, we) can get caught up in the daily routine, feeling like there’s no time to step back and think. I’ve found that I need time to reflect. I’ve been sitting in these leadership program sessions with the rest of you. Yet I had to step back and think <strong>before </strong>I realized I had an opportunity to apply what we all have been learning.<br />
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Anyway, the talk with Bob didn’t go that great. Well, it could have been worse. I went in to the meeting feeling prepared, with a positive attitude, and ready to get down to specifics. As the discussion progressed, I could see Bob slipping into a fog, shutting down. Later, I realized maybe I wasn’t descriptive enough and I could have been more timely (four days had passed before we had the opportunity to talk). It could have gone better. And, I have a feeling that next time it will. I gave it a try and I identified some mistakes on my part, <strong>and </strong>I stepped out of my comfort zone and gave it a shot.<br />
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Years ago, my daughter decided to take flute lessons. She brought home her shiny new flute after her first lesson. Her practice for the next lesson was to blow into the flute and make a sound similar to a note. Pretty easy lesson, right? Have you tried that? I found out that it’s hard to blow into a flute and make it sound like a flute! She threw down the flute in frustration (on the soft living room couch, or there’d be a different ending to this story) and cried, “I’ll never be able to do it!” I had to remind her about all the things she can do now, only after much practice – riding a bicycle, kicking a ball, walking, chewing solid food (well she didn’t remember that far back!). Years later, she was first chair flutist in a youth orchestra that performed and traveled around Europe.<br />
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So now, it’s time to remind myself about practice. My first attempt at our new feedback method didn’t produce sweet melodies, but I’m going to keep trying to step out of my routine and keep practicing.<br />
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<p><strong>«««»»»</strong></p>
<p> <br />
Note several things here. John, having set a goal, held himself accountable to following through. He recognized that this is hard for him. He developed a plan and executed the plan. And, like many (most?, all?) times our first attempt isn’t all that good. Note the example of John’s daughter and her initial attempts to play the flute. <br />
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And, if you are honest here, you can probably recall first attempts of our own that did not go well. Rather than giving up and denying yourself the joy of succeeding, keep trying and perfect the skill you are working on. It will take time. However, the joy of the result is worth the pain of getting there.<br />
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Jennifer Porter, a leadership and team development consultant, puts all of all of this together: “Great leaders are great learners. … Getting and learning from feedback <em>[as well as learning how to give feedback effectively] </em>isn’t always easy, but it is necessary, if we want to become better. It’s rare that our colleagues will offer us the kind of feedback we need to develop, and also rare that we respond in a way that rewards their efforts and helps us improve. It’s worth building the skills to do this well if we want to reach our full potential.”<sup>2</sup><br />
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Make it a great week for you and your colleagues. . . jim<br />
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<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
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Further Reading:</p>
<ol><li>David Rock, Beth Jones, Chris Weller, <a href="https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Using-Neuroscience-to-Make-Feedback-Work-and-Feel-Better?gko=9ff55" target="_blank">Using Neuroscience to Make Feedback Work and Feel Better</a>, strategy+business, August 2018.</li>
<li>Jennifer Porter, <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/01/how-leaders-can-get-honest-productive-feedback" target="_blank">How Leaders Can Get Honest, Productive Feedback</a>, <a href="http://hbr.org/" target="_blank">hbr.org</a>, January 2019.</li>
</ol></div>
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Tue, 05 Mar 2019 12:09:32 +0000Jim Bruce6867 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/feedback-gift#commentsPete the Cathttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/pete-cat
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><em>Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Frances Haies, Assistant Director, Office of Information Technology, Project Management Office, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection last fall. [Frances may be reached at </em>&lt;<a href="mailto:haiesfa@oit.rutgers.edu" target="_blank">haiesfa@oit.rutgers.edu</a><em>&gt;.]</em><br />
<br />
<br />
Since I haven’t had much opportunity to step out of my comfort zone at work, I found an opportunity in my personal life. I have 3 children, in three different schools, with my youngest in kindergarten. My two older kids have gone through the same school system and with the same kindergarten teacher. Each year the teacher invites parents to come in and read to the class their child’s favorite book. So, for the past two kids, I skillfully avoided the teacher’s request by describing how I’m this critical resource at work and can’t possibly risk taking a day off to read in front of the bright-eyed kids. The teacher would instead have to read to them on my behalf.<br />
<br />
This year, because of the MOR Leaders Program, I took the challenge. I would step out of my comfort zone and agreed to read in front of the class! For someone with social issues, this is a major fear to get over.<br />
<br />
As the day approached and because I’m always well prepared for a meeting – I decided I needed to practice. I read and re-read my daughter’s favorite book, “Pete The Cat and The Lost Tooth”. I read in front of my daughter, I read in front of the mirror, I even read in front of the dog! <br />
<br />
On the day of the big event, I put on a nice suit, makeup and my best perfume. I drove to Raritan Valley Elementary school, rang the bell (because of new security), announced myself “I’m Mrs. Haies, I’m here to read to Mrs. Archibald’s class.” The school secretary buzzed me in and told me: “Mrs. Haies you’re in the wrong school, Mrs. Archibald is in Sycamore Drive school.” OMG! How could I make such a mistake?! I thanked her and left quickly as I didn’t want to be late for Pete the Cat! My daughter’s school was across town.<br />
<br />
Going slightly above the speed limit, I managed to make it on time. Still stressed by the early mistake, I stepped into the classroom, fearful of these 5-year-old kid’s judgement of me. There were 24 of them! Their eyes fixated on me, I could feel the sting of their piercing gaze. They were polite though, saying: “Good afternoon, Laylah’s Mom”. With my hands sweaty and shaking, I began to read. As some of you may know, Pete the Cat books aren’t exactly lengthy, so in no time I was finished. With my daughter by my side, I finished! I got past seven years of built-up anxiety. This was not easy for me to do, but I got through it. Seeing the smile on my daughter’s face made me realize what I was missing out on. I should have done this for my other children!<br />
<br />
What this exercise taught me was twofold. First, I could and should step out of my comfort zone. You cannot grow or change without facing your biggest challenges. Being aware of what you need to change is simply not enough. After all, I’ve known I have social issues my whole life, but I’ve just come to accept it. What I hadn’t realized is that it is holding me back from being the success that I know I can be, that I want to be. It’s affecting me AND my family.<br />
<br />
Second, my anxieties and fears cause me to make unnecessary, silly mistakes. I need to get past this and work smarter. I know my daughter doesn’t go to Raritan Valley! I was so clouded by the anxiety that for a solid 20 minutes I made my way to the wrong school! Am I doing this at work too? <br />
<br />
In order to change, you have to not only agree to step out of your comfort zone, you actually have to DO it!<br />
<br />
Thank you to Mike Sullivan for being a great coach and to the whole MOR team!<br />
<br />
I hope you all have a wonderful week!<br />
</p>
<p><strong>«««»»»</strong></p>
<p> <br />
Frances’ essay is another admonition to each of us to step out of our comfort zone, to go beyond our anxiety, to try again after we’ve failed. As you go through your week, find an opportunity to do just that. It will make you better, it will make it a better week for you. <br />
<br />
. . . . jim<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
<br />
Note: Pete the Cat books can be found <a href="http://www.petethecatbooks.com/books/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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Tue, 12 Feb 2019 12:11:29 +0000Jim Bruce5748 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/pete-cat#commentsAdvice to Sponsors and Managers of MOR Program Participantshttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/sean-mcdonald/advice-sponsors-and-managers
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">When participants come back from MOR workshops they are brimming with energy and excitement, raring to put new skills and ideas into action, but they come back to the same places they left, where often little has changed—except maybe their to-do lists, which have grown. While it is ultimately each participant’s responsibility to claim ownership of their professional development and navigate the application of their learning, managers play a critical role in protecting and harvesting this energy and new ideas that participants bring back. Even with good intent, ‘receiving’ participants upon their return can be extremely challenging. In an effort to provide some practical advice we interviewed Laura Patterson, recently retired CIO of the University of Michigan, and Casey Gordon, the CIO at the College of St Benedict and Saint John’s University in Minnesota. Both have sent team members through MOR Leadership programs. Casey has also attended a MOR program and Laura now works with MOR as a coach and program leader. We are extremely grateful for their insights, which appear below. Thank you Laura and Casey!</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>Good Intent is Different than Changed Practices and Behaviors</strong></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Laura Patterson enrolled her entire senior leadership team from the University of Michigan in the 2005 MOR Leaders Program. This was shortly after they came together as the new lead team for a recently created organization. Laura recalls that by the conclusion of the program, every member of the team enhanced their individual leadership capabilities. The pace of development varied, and the impact was more dramatic for some than others, but without exception every person grew as a leader. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">What she hadn’t expected was the impact the experience had on the group as a whole and on her as their leader. The team came back from the program with a common language. Their interactions were more candid and productive. They provided each other, and her, with direct, constructive feedback. They engaged in intense, thoughtful dialogues resulting in a shared strategy and clear direction. They had a shared toolkit that they employed to manage projects and address organizational challenges. The group dynamics improved and their productivity increased because each of them had become a better, more intentional leader.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><em><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Manager Tip --&gt; As a manager of a team or individuals coming back from a MOR experience make time for them to share the new tools, new practices and shared language they learn about with you and the rest of the team.</span></em></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">For Laura, she hadn’t expected to see such dramatic changes. It was surprising, and in full honesty, she wasn’t prepared for it. She quickly realized she needed to increase her own performance as a leader in order to serve them well and to leverage their capabilities. They had gone into the program as managers and had come back as leaders. <strong>She needed to become a leader of leaders.</strong> So, she set out to intentionally change her behavior, adopting some new practices herself. She delegated more readily. She included them in strategic conversations with university executive leadership. She charged them with leading major change initiatives. She stopped directing and started coaching. She regularly discussed career goals with them. She routinely asked them for feedback.</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><em><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive">Manager Tip --&gt; After hearing from your returning team member or members, reflect on your engagement with them. What new practices can you employ to better leverage this new leadership energy and insight?</span></span></em> </p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Not surprisingly, as Laura aimed to raise her own performance, the team’s leadership capabilities continued to increase and their organizational responsibilities expanded as well. There was a positive cascade effect on their teams and the entire organization. Over time, a leadership culture began to flourish that had a positive impact on the climate, on productivity and on performance. </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><em><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Manager Tip --&gt; An investment in professional development can have huge returns if it ripples out and spreads across your organization. But it will have limited benefit if you aren’t engaged in it yourself. </span></span> </em> </p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Laura’s closing advice is to set high expectations at the outset of the program. Establish accountability for participants to be “all in.” Regularly discuss developmental goals and share feedback. At the conclusion of the program, assign important, cross-functional projects to MOR graduates that require the application of the tools they’ve learned. Set expectations and let them run with the new responsibility. Become a leader of leaders.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><strong>Even When You Think You Are Ready, It Will Be Harder Than You Think</strong></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">As a 2017 MOR Leaders Program graduate, Casey Gordon, CIO at the College of St Benedict and Saint John’s University, thought she was going to be ready to best ‘support’ her four direct reports as they came back from the 2018 MOR Leaders Program. To her surprise, it was still very challenging, it took effort, and old habits needed to be reassessed. We asked, her, “So what did you learn?” Here are her tips to other sponsors and managers…</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><em><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Manager Tip 1 --&gt; When participants come back and come to you with new ideas, which they will (especially if you are doing Tip 2 below); step back and listen. My first instinct was to help them implement their new ideas right away, taking on the burden of thinking it through further and bringing it to fruition. However, it’s unsustainable to implement every idea people bring back. Use questions and coaching techniques to encourage your staff to think it through more. </span><strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Give it back to them.</span></strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF"> Let the person further recognize where there is true opportunity, where challenge exists, where it matters most, and where the best starting point might be for an experiment.</span></em></span> </p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><em><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Manager Tip 2 --&gt; Supporting Tip 1 above, this is a good time to </span><strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">assess the current practices in regard to being open</span></strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF"> and inviting this alternative thinking. With the pressures of the immediate and demands for results, we can lose sight of carving out time to look ahead, to think differently. If you are not receiving new ideas today then you might look in the mirror and seek feedback. How could your current approach or processes be a limiting factor?</span></em></span> </p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p class="rteindent1"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,cursive"><em><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Manager Tip 3 --&gt; </span><strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">Create a space for </span></strong><span style="background-color:#F0F8FF">a new type of conversation, one focused on strategic thinking, continued development and leadership, not progress reports with an operational or tactical focus. Develop a routine for bringing new ideas, learning moments, and out of the box thinking forward. Create a space where team members can share openly, with no fear of consequences. “Yes and” becomes the norm over “but”, as others can build on the ideas and not rebuff them. Learning and continuous improvement become business as usual.</span></em></span> </p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">These three items that Casey shared are clearly linked in a virtuous circle, and one could argue that the order should be flipped. However, the first one, described in Tip 1, is what will kick the rest of this off, consider it your prompt, as it will likely happen before you are ready for it. And although it might seem easy to spin up Tip 3, don’t do it until you take a close look and reflect on Tip 2. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">---</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">We at MOR would add two additional items, layered across all of the above:</span></p>
<ol><li>
<h3><strong><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">This will take you out of your comfort zone</span></strong></h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3><strong><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">“Stretch and Challenge” begets better performance</span></strong></h3>
</li>
</ol><p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">You were most certainly promoted along the way because of all of the strengths you have and good work you’ve done. Ironically, now that your career has progressed and you are a leader of leaders you need to let go of what got you here. Why? To give others room to grow. You have to assess old habits, the ones that served you well for so many years, and make room for new practices in an ever-evolving world. Stepping out of your comfort zone is not easy, but it is where the learning happens, where the magic happens.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Finally, as you receive participants back from each workshop or any MOR Leadership experience, keep in mind the MOR mantra, “Stretch and Challenge.” Challenge your people, stretch them today beyond where they could reach yesterday. This is how your team will continue to grow and learn. You have the opportunity to facilitate this stretch and challenge. The results will far surpass any current prediction you may have your teams capability and capacity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Good luck!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Reach out to us any time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><a href="mailto:MOR@morassociates.com">MOR@morassociates.com</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">617-924-4501</span></p>
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Tue, 22 Jan 2019 22:10:39 +0000Sean McDonald5488 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/sean-mcdonald/advice-sponsors-and-managers#commentsplus • singhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/plus%C2%A0%E2%80%A2%C2%A0sing
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h2><span style="color:#0000FF">… a technique that allows people to iterate on ideas without using harsh or judgmental language. While used typically in teams and on the ideas of others, plussing works equally well on one’s own ideas - when one’s self critic can be particularly vocal.</span></h2>
<p><br />
You may never have previously encountered the word “plussing.” Neither had I until I recently ran across several essays about Pixar and the tools that company uses to get its team of animators and others working on a film to collaborate with each other. In a word, the technique they use is called “plussing” which has been recognized as a feedback/mentoring approach that is particularly effective in stimulating collaboration and providing feedback in large groups. <br />
<br />
Pixar is extremely well known for its full-length animated feature films. Making an animated film requires collaboration across large numbers of employees with very different skill sets, and in particular among those who draw the animated images that become the film. Typically, an animator is assigned to work on one or two of the film’s many scenes at a time. A typical single scene, which might be four seconds long, requires about 100 frames (drawings) for the scene. It takes one animator about one week to animate one scene. As an example, it took Pixar five years to create the more than 146,000 images for the 2015 film <em>Inside Out</em>.<br />
<br />
For <em>Monsters, Inc.</em>, animators spent as much as 12 hours on a single frame, for example, animating each of Sully’s 320,413 individually animated blue hairs. Sometimes the process seemed more forensic than artistic. Story artists went through each detail of a scene, scanning for things that would likely go unnoticed by viewers – the placement of a prop or the way a character’s eyes move or the details of a shadow. Some of these changes would require significant rework in the complex web of formulas, coding, and even the physics that defines a character’s lifelike performance on screen. Further along the process, the bits and pieces of the story – camera angles, lighting, sound effects, motion capture – are reviewed and revised by film editors, technical directors, and creative designers.<br />
<br />
Clearly, many talented individuals from multiple disciplines are needed to collaborate over long periods of time to create any one of these successful films.<br />
<br />
The question is how do all of the animators, the director, and all the other highly skilled individuals working on film effectively collaborate. Each day each animator’s work is fed into a central system that serves as a platform where the director and others associated with the film can review all of the previous day’s work. Then, the next morning they meet to review the work from the previous day, and <em>critique it</em>.<br />
<br />
And, as you might expect, that critique can be brutal. To make the meeting productive, Pixar has its own system for feedback built on candor, open communication, and a surprising openness to other people’s ideas. The company calls the system “plussing.” Its origin is attributed to Walt Disney and the way he ran his production meetings at Disney. The organizational principle is simple: No one is permitted to shoot down an idea; your criticism must come with a “plus,” a new idea or a suggestion for strengthening the original.<br />
<br />
Joe Hirsch, author and managing director of Semaca Partners, a management consulting firm, illustrates this process in his essay “Pixar’s Secret for Giving Feedback.”<sup>1</sup> There Hirsch writes, “Instead of shutting down ideas completely, animators try to add on to the idea with suggestions for improvement. So, when the creative director for Pixar’s upcoming <em>Toy Story 4</em> [slated for release in 2019] doesn’t like the way Woody’s eyes roll from frame to frame, she won’t just toss the sketch. Instead, she’ll ‘plus’ it by asking the story artist, ‘I like the way you drew Woody’s eyes. What if they roll left?’”<br />
<br />
Jim Dunbar,<sup>2</sup> who currently works in public libraries and regional library systems and provides library services to the general public and to rural libraries in Alberta, Canada, provides another example: “Consider the situation where a director is working with an animator on a scene. The director may not like much about the entire sequence. However, she will identify one aspect of the scene she does like (perhaps the movement of the main character) and then say ‘I like how Huck’s body twists as he swings the bat <em>and</em> what if he were to smile as he does that?’ Now the animator has some feedback to build on. Notice that ‘and’ does not imply judgment as the word ‘but’ would have. Rather, ‘and’ opens up the possibilities for discussing ideas and thoughts. I believe this is a very powerful technique for encouraging the sharing of ideas and for allowing concepts to develop. In the initial stages, creative ideas are fragile and the individuals proposing them are very sensitive to judgment and criticism.”<br />
<br />
While you might see this as just semantics, the effect is significant. Rather than rejecting ideas in their entirety, “plussing” provides an individual with a mechanism to use to add to the original idea without rejecting it or using harsh or judgmental language. Andy Cleff<sup>3 </sup>also notes that while plussing was initially used in teams on other people’s ideas, it can also be effectively helpful if you use it to critique your own ideas.<br />
<br />
Plussing can be summarized in three basic rules, the first two of which are taken from the world of improvisation:<br /><br /><strong>1. Accept all offers.</strong> In other words, listen. This is the first rule of improvisation where you respond, Yes, and … <strong>not</strong>, Yes, but … In plussing, you say “Yes, and …” or “What if …” or “How can we now …” or “Yes, and what if we were not to …” Joe Hirsch<sup>1</sup> makes several other suggestions – instead of “This will never work,” we ask “What if we tried …?”; instead of “I don’t see that happening,” we ask, “How might we do this?;” and instead of “We’re not staffed for that,” you suggest “Let’s try to reallocate.” You get the idea, you take notice of something with a positive voice and then raise your issue in a question.<br /><br />
Gogek<sup>4</sup> reminds us that psychology tells us that the best way to foster creativity is to make sure that people remain intrinsically motivated, that is motivated by the internal personal satisfaction success will bring. Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile has spent some four decades researching this connection and has found it to be true for all groups of people, from children to professional artists, to knowledge workers.<br />
<br /><strong>2. Make your partner look good.</strong> This is the second rule of improv. Praise the person and keep any criticism focused on the idea, the work, problems you see. Don’t say, “You always …” Instead, you might say, “Wow, that’s an unexpected approach…” And, then you still engage in a critical discussion by moving the conversation’s focus to the proposal, etc. You might ask, “What would we need if we were to take that approach?” Throughout the discussion, you want to keep the focus on the issue and avoid any negatives of separating the person from the problem. <br /><br /><strong>3. Structure the debate</strong>. Plussing is different from brainstorming. In plussing, the dialogue is like a structured debate, serious and constructive. Your goal is to review the existing work and to generate ideas that build further and create better. Throughout you need to listen respectfully and respect the talents and abilities of all your colleagues involved in the discussion. <br /><br />
So, that’s plussing. Think of it as a new tool for your toolkit. Perhaps you might use it the next time you are reviewing a project with your team. Or, perhaps you might use it to help you work through the intricacies of a project or a problem you are personally working on now. You might also use it as an approach in your coaching and mentoring to help your coachee see the questions he or she should be asking as they work through the issue they are facing. And, like any tool you have to practice using it so that it will be available to you when it’s needed. So, need I suggest that you try it out this week.<br />
<br />
Make it a great week for you and your team. . . . jim<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
<br />
<br />
References:</p>
<ol><li>Joe Hirsch, “<a href="https://leadx.org/articles/pixar/" target="_blank">Pixar’s Secret For Giving Feedback</a>,” LEADx, June 2017.</li>
<li>Jim Dunbar, “<a href="http://www.infogumshoe.com/2011/11/17/pixar-and-plussing/" target="_blank">Pixar and Plussing</a>,” infoGumshoe Blog, November 2011.</li>
<li>Andy Cleff, “’<a href="https://engineering.aweber.com/plussing-learning-and-working-in-a-collaborative-environment/" target="_blank">Plussing’ – Learning and Working in a Collaborative Environment</a>,” AWEBER/ENGINEERING, September 2014.</li>
<li>Daniel Gogek, “<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tired-dysfunctional-collaborating-steal-3-great-ideas-daniel-gogek" target="_blank">How Pixar Turned Their Criticizers into Creators – and Changed the Movie World Forever</a>,” LinkedIn, December 2015.</li>
</ol><p> <br />
Additional Reading:</p>
<ol><li>David Burkus, <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/07/how-criticism-creates-innovati" target="_blank">How Criticism Creates Innovative Teams</a>,” Harvard Business Review, June 2013.</li>
<li>Len Brzozowski, “<a href="https://lenbrzozowski.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/pixars-plussing-culture/" target="_blank">Pixar’s Plussing: Creating a Culture of Dissent</a>,” lenbrzozowski blog, October 2012.</li>
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Tue, 30 Oct 2018 11:11:29 +0000Jim Bruce4070 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/plus%C2%A0%E2%80%A2%C2%A0sing#commentsWords Counthttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/words-count
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><em>Daniela Aivazian is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading. She is an Organizational Effectiveness Specialist in Stanford University’s University IT organization. Her essay first appeared as a leadership program reflection earlier this year. [Dani may be reached at </em><a href="mailto:daivaz@stanford.edu"><em>daivaz@stanford.edu</em></a><em>.]</em><br />
<br /><br />
In my second IT Leaders workshop, my coach said something that stopped me in my tracks. “Words matter,” she said during our conversation about diversity and inclusion. Using the colloquialism “you guys,” she continued (I’m paraphrasing), can feel exclusionary to people who are <em>not</em> guys: women obviously, but also gender-nonconforming people. Her words resonated deeply at that moment, and ever since, because “you guys” is a phrase I use all the time as if were gender-neutral. But my coach was right. It’s not.<sup>1</sup><br />
<br />
In the weeks since that workshop, I’ve been thinking about how much the words we use matter. This week, I am focusing my Leadership Reflection on the words that matter to me. These are the words that ground my presence, and are the root of who I am and how I show up as a person in the world. These are the words that inform who I am as a leader:<br />
<br /><strong>Encourage</strong><br />
Encourage is a word that we imported into English, and its root is the French word <em>coeur</em>, which means heart. <strong>Encourage</strong> informs how I coach, which is a big part of my job and a skill I am constantly working on. <strong>Encourage</strong> is like a North Star for me when I’m coaching: I want to ask questions and listen hard so that my coachee and I get to the <em>heart of the matter</em> they’re trying to think through. <strong>Encourage</strong> also contains the word “courage,” which is another thing I’m trying to do as a coach. <strong>Encourage</strong> is a reminder to me that I want to close every coaching interaction having bolstered my coachee’s strength of purpose and <em>courage to act</em>. <br />
<br /><strong>Kindness</strong><br />
Kindness comes to us from Old Dutch via Old English. Its root is the word <em>cynd(e)</em>, which meant human, nature, race. When I think about the word <strong>kindness</strong>, I’m always struck by the fact that it contains the word “kin,” which means family, neighbors, tribe, right at the beginning of the word, like a signpost pointing the way forward. <strong>Kindness</strong> for me is a prerequisite for interacting with other humans. It’s recognizing that fundamentally we are all kin, all in this together on our tiny blue marble of a planet. Kindness informs how I collaborate and build relationships. <strong>Kindness </strong>motivates how I share my talents, knowledge, and expertise. When I think about <strong>kindness </strong>as an essential component of leadership, I think about one of my earliest (and forever) role models, Fred Rogers, who welcomed everyone to his neighborhood, and was always warm and honest and open about what was true, especially when that truth might be hard to understand. Mr Rogers<sup>2</sup> embodied <strong>kindness</strong>. </p>
<p> <br /><strong>Empathy</strong><br />
Mr Rogers also embodied <strong>empathy</strong>. The dictionary defines empathy as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” The word was coined by a German philosopher at the turn of the last century; its root is the Greek word <em>pathos</em> which means feeling. When I think about empathy, though, I don’t think about the dictionary definition or etymology. I think about the visceral immediacy of Atticus Finch<sup>3</sup> explaining the concept to his daughter Scout in Harper Lee’s <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em>. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view,” he says. “Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” That’s <strong>empathy </strong>to me. It’s like gravity. The word is a constant grounding for me, a constant reminder to put myself in other people’s shoes and walk around, thinking about how the world looks and sounds and feels from their perspective. <strong>Empathy </strong>is the gravitational center of who I am as a leader and a coach.<br />
<br /><strong>Compassion</strong><br />
Empathy and compassion are related concepts.<sup>4</sup> The words are occasionally used interchangeably, but they are not synonyms. <strong>Compassion</strong> combines two Latin words: <em>com </em>which means with, and <em>passio</em> which means suffering; literally, compassion means suffering with someone and sharing their pain. In current usage, <strong>compassion </strong>means not just sharing someone’s pain, but also working to alleviate it. This is the critical differentiator for me. <strong>Compassion</strong> is action oriented. It includes the <em>desire to help.</em> As I strive to be an empathetic listener and a compassionate coach, my goal is always to <em>help</em>. That the word <strong>compassion</strong> also has the word “compass” embedded in it is another reminder for me. When I’m coaching someone, my focus is on helping them find their direction so that they can <em>move forward and take action</em>.<br />
<br /><strong>Coach</strong><br />
The word that threads through all of these verbal explorations is the word <strong>coach</strong>, which to me isn’t just a job responsibility or a skillset. It’s a way of being in the world. The word <strong>coach</strong> comes from the French word <em>coche</em>, which is a traveling conveyance, like a stagecoach. Coaching is by definition <em>action-oriented</em>. It’s about getting people from one place to another. It’s about <em>moving forward</em>.<br />
<br /><em><strong>In conclusion</strong></em><br />
All of these words that matter to me are like signs and guardrails for how I move forward. They are a personal lexicon that informs how I show up as a coach and as a leader. Paying attention to these words, paying attention to <em>all</em> the words that I use (or don’t use) matters to me deeply. Because my coach was right. <strong>Words matter.</strong><br />
<br />
We often tell small children to “use their words.” My challenge to all of us is to reflect on <em>how</em> we use our words. Ask yourself:</p>
<ul><li>What are the words that matter to you?</li>
<li>What is your personal leadership lexicon?</li>
<li>What are the words that inform your presence?</li>
<li>How do you hold the space for others to use <em>their</em> words?</li>
</ul><p> <br />
I spent most of yesterday at my twelve-year-old daughter’s lacrosse tournament, which took place at Thurgood Marshall Middle School. The draft of this email sat at the back of my mind the whole day, and when I came back to it, I realized that the universe had connected a few more dots for me. Thurgood Marshall<sup>5</sup> was Chief Counsel for the NAACP; his most famous case was the <em>Brown v Board of Education</em> case that ended racial segregation in public schools. He went on to become the first African American Supreme Court Justice. His life and accomplishments prove how much words can matter. <strong>Words can change the world.</strong><br />
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So … <strong>what are your words?</strong></p>
<p><strong>&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; </strong></p>
<p> <br />
<em>Dani is right, words matter. So, what are your words? </em><br />
<br /><em>Make it a great week. </em>. . . . jim<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
<br /><strong>Notes:</strong></p>
<ol><li>Alternatives you might use include everyone, friends, people, team, colleagues, etc.</li>
<li>If you don’t know who Mr. Rogers is, or can’t remember, you’re in luck. There is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhwktRDG_aQ" target="_blank">documentary</a> about him arriving in theatres this summer.</li>
<li>Gregory Peck immortalized Atticus Finch on the big screen, and his delivery of this quote (his presence!) makes the words even more powerful. I’ve attached a video clip to this email, but it’s worth watching the movie again, if it’s been a while since you’ve seen it.</li>
<li>There are many think pieces about the difference between and limits of compassion and empathy. If you are interested, here are links to two thought-provoking HBR articles: <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/01/the-limits-of-empathy" target="_blank">The Limits of Empathy</a> and <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/10/its-harder-to-empathize-with-people-if-youve-been-in-their-shoes" target="_blank">It’s Harder to Empathize with People if You’ve Been In Their Shoes</a>.</li>
<li>If you want to know more about Thurgood Marshall, you can start <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
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Wed, 09 May 2018 12:51:36 +0000Jim Bruce2983 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/words-count#commentsPsychological Safetyhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/psychological-safety
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h2><span style="color:#0000FF">… <em>my team is a safe place for interpersonal risk taking</em></span></h2>
<h3> </h3>
<p>Early this decade Google was focused on building the perfect team. Even earlier, the company had endeavored to capture large quantities of data about employees and how they worked. They knew, for example, how frequently particular people ate together (more productive people had larger networks of dining partners) and were able to identify key traits shared by the very best managers (good communication and avoidance of micromanaging). <br />
<br />
In 2012 the company launched a new initiative, Project Aristotle, to analyze this data and develop an understanding of what really made the best teams. This study is the subject of an article by Charles Duhigg published in the New York Times: “What Google Learned from its Quest to Build the Perfect Team.<sup>1”</sup> Google’s website <a href="https://rework.withgoogle.com/" target="_blank">re:Work</a><sup>2 </sup> provides access to a broad set of information about the study as well as guides for all phases of a team’s work.<br />
<br />
Project Aristotle identified five key “dynamics” that set successful teams apart from other teams at Google:</p>
<ol><li><strong>Psychological safety</strong>: Can this team’s members take risks without feeling insecure or embarrassed?</li>
<li><strong>Dependability</strong>: Can this team’s members count on each other to do high quality work on time?</li>
<li><strong>Structure and clarity</strong>: Are the goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?</li>
<li><strong>Meaning of work</strong>: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?</li>
<li><strong>Impact of work</strong>: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters? </li>
</ol><p>Of these five key dynamics, the study clearly showed that the first, psychological safety, was far more important than the other four key dynamics and, in fact, it provided the underpinning for the other four. John Katzenbach, noted writer on organizational culture, leadership, and learning, put it this way: [The study demonstrated] “…that the purely functional aspects of a team’s performance – the members’ professional backgrounds, experience, drive, or intelligence, for example – were not as relevant to success as this safe-space facility.<sup>3</sup>” Said differently, what really mattered was less about who was on the team and more about how the team worked together.<br />
<br />
This leads us to two questions: How might this concept of “psychological safety” be defined? And, “What is needed to make my team psychologically safe?”<br />
<br />
Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, was first to identify the concept of “psychological safety.” In a 2014 TEDxTalk HGSE talk, Professor Edmondson said that “Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes<sup>4</sup>.” The term describes a team climate characterized by interpersonal trust and mutual respect in which people are comfortable being themselves and speaking openly. However, this is not an environment where there is no accountability. Edmondson sees psychological safety and accountability as separate qualities. Low psychological safety and low accountability are indicators of apathy. High psychological safety combined with high accountability result in learning, the state a team strives for so that it will be seen as both continuously learning and successful.<br />
<br />
So, how do we build such a team? Start small. Getting to “full-on” psychological safety for your team will take time. Perhaps, by first taking a small step at a team meeting and doing a go-around where each person talks about one thing he or she brings to the team. Others might speak on the value they experience from that individual’s work before continuing to the next team member for what he or she brings. Repeated over time, this could naturally evolve to people talking about life events that impact their work on the team. Some teams make a “go-around” to talk about what’s going on in each individual’s life a regular part of every team meeting. This would build stronger relationships, including trust and mutual respect, between all team members. Without strong bonds the trust that is required for the team’s psychological safety cannot exist<sup>5</sup>.<br />
<br />
Beyond this, Edmondson<sup>4</sup> suggests three paths that must be taken for a team to have psychology safety:</p>
<ol><li>Frame the work as a set of learning opportunities rather than as execution problems. No matter the task, there is always some uncertainty. Recognize this, be open to and seek input from others, set the pattern of a willingness to hear the ideas of others.</li>
<li>Acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers. Be open to input because “you just may miss something.” Even though you really believe that you know the answer, be willing to admit that you might have incomplete knowledge of the total situation.</li>
<li>Model curiosity. Ask lots of questions. If you ask the questions, then your colleagues on the team will have to answer, adding their voice to the overall discussion. Every time we don’t ask questions we deprive ourselves and our colleagues of some amount of learning.</li>
</ol><p>Making work assigned to each team member really the team’s work is key to team learning and having a team that will deliver its very best work. That is a worthy objective for every team leader and every team member.<br />
<br />
Make time this week to stop and think about the team you lead or are a member of. What can you do to increase psychological safety so that the team can do it’s very best work? And, as you make progress on psychological safety for the team, begin to work on the other four dynamics – dependability, structure and clarity, the work’s meaning, and its impact – of highly successful teams.<br />
<br />
Make it a great week. . . . jim<br />
<br />
<br />
Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates, and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, and CIO, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.<br />
<br />
<br />
References and Notes:</p>
<ol><li>Charles Duhigg, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html" target="_blank">What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team</a>, New York Times, February 25, 2016.</li>
<li>Google’s website <a href="https://rework.withgoogle.com/" target="_blank">re:work</a> is a library of learning and informational materials on work. You may find its collection <a href="https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/managers-care-professionally-personally-for-team/steps/introduction/" target="_blank">Guide: Care Professionally and Personally for your Team</a> and <a href="https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/introduction/" target="_blank">Guide: Understand Team Effectiveness</a> to be particularly helpful.</li>
<li>John Katzenbach, <a href="https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Great-Teams-Build-Great-Cultures?gko=3388b" target="_blank">Great Teams Build Great Cultures</a>, Strategy+Business, May 17, 2016.</li>
<li>Amy Edmondson, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8" target="_blank">Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace</a>,” TEDxHGSE, May 4, 2014.</li>
<li>Duhigg, in the NYTimes article referenced earlier, related a very special moment in the life of Sakaguchi’s team: “He [Sakaguchi] began by asking everyone to share something personal about themselves. He went first: <em>‘’I think one of the things most people don’t know about me,’ he told the group, ‘is that I have Stage 4 cancer.’ In 2001, he said, a doctor discovered a tumor in his kidney. By the time the cancer was detected, it had spread to his spine. For nearly half a decade, it had grown slowly as he underwent treatment while working at Google. Recently, however, doctors had found a new, worrisome spot on a scan of his liver. That was far more serious, he explained. No one knew what to say. The team had been working with Sakaguchi for 10 months. They all liked him, just as they all liked one another. No one suspected that he was dealing with anything like this. ” ’’To have Matt stand there and tell us that he’s sick and he’s not going to get better and, you know, what that means,’ Laurent said. ‘It was a really hard, really special moment.’”</em> And, that is the type of bonds that colleagues on a well-functioning team have and an example of things, very difficult things, they can share to strengthen the interpersonal bonds between them and to support each other.</li>
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Tue, 27 Feb 2018 13:12:33 +0000Jim Bruce2202 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/psychological-safety#commentsTalk To Yourself (Out Loud)?http://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/talk-yourself-out-loud
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h2><span style="color:#000080"><em>… You May Want To Give IT a Try</em></span></h2>
<p>Kristin Wong, a Los Angeles journalist and writer, who contributes to the New York Times and other publications, found herself approached by a stranger at a grocery store asking if she needed help. He had heard her talking to herself out loud, in public. She had grown so comfortable with talking out loud to herself that she didn’t realize what she was doing.<br />
Psychologists call the practice of talking out loud to yourself external self-talk. While many of us see this as weird or irrational or a sign of some mental distress, researchers have found that it can positively influence our behavior and learning. University of Michigan professor of psychology Ethan Kross reports “Language provides us with this tool to gain distance from our own experiences when we’re reflecting on our lives.” When we talk to ourselves we are actually trying to see things more objectively.<br />
We may be most familiar with “<strong>instructional self-talk</strong>” where we talk ourselves through a specific task and “<strong>motivational self-talk</strong>” where we are working to convince ourselves that we can do a particular task, often when we really may not want to.<br />
Research has shown that such self-directed speech can also help guide children’s behavior. For example, kids can often talk themselves through tasks such as tying their shoelaces by reminding themselves of each step as they proceed. Or, as they play, describing puzzle pieces as they work to put a puzzle together.<br />
Kross’ research has demonstrated that we do a better job motivating ourselves if we speak to ourselves in the second or third person – “You can do this,” or “Jim can do this” – instead of speaking in the first person – “I can do this.” Using “you” or your name reduces your anxiety while doing the task. And, peers report that you actually do better. Kross says that this is because of “self-distancing:” Focusing on the self from the distanced perspective of a third person, even though that person is you, gives you more confidence. Seeing the situation from a distance keeps your second or third-person persona from being sucked into the problems that are causing the anxiety.<br />
Instructive self-talk can also speed up your cognitive abilities in relation to problem-solving and task performance. Talking to yourself about what you are doing helps you stay focused and may improve your approach (strategy) and technique. Gary Lupyan, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison believes that self-talk can be really helpful in keeping out distractions and in reminding you where you are in multi-step processes.<br />
Psychologist Linda Sapadin discovered that talking out loud to yourself helps you validate important and difficult decisions. She says that “It helps you clarify your thoughts, address what’s important, and firm up any decisions you’re contemplating.” Talking out loud focuses your attention, reinforces the message, controls your runaway emotions, and screens out distractions.<br />
University of Illinois psychologist Brian Ross advocates a related learning strategy known as “<strong>self-explaining</strong>.” This approach involves you frequently (perhaps as often as after every paragraph if you are working your way through a difficult concept) asking yourself explanatory questions such as: “What does this mean?” “Why does it matter?” “What did I just read?” “How does this fit together?” “Have I seen this concept before?” Asking questions out loud really helps. One study showed that people who explain ideas to themselves learn almost three times more than those who don’t.<br />
So, how might I employee self-explaining in my own learning? Four steps:</p>
<ol><li><strong>Talk to yourself.</strong> While you may think it’s not cool, talking to yourself is essential to self-explaining and generally helpful to learning. It does slow you down. However, as a result you become more deliberate and gain more from the experience. Self-talk also helps us think about our thinking and through that we develop skills more effectively.</li>
<li><strong>Ask why.</strong> Through self-explaining we become more curious and we ask why more often. If you don’t know something, the why questions are hard and answering them develops expertise.</li>
<li><strong>Summarize.</strong> When you summarize a subject, you self-explain, you put the information into your own words, and in doing so, you have made the information, the concept, yours and you have become more likely to remember the information.</li>
<li><strong>Make connections.</strong> One of the personal benefits to self-explaining is that it helps you see new links and associations. And, seeing these relationships helps improve memory. And, they are an aid to a fuller understanding.</li>
</ol><p>The three types of self-talk we’ve introduced here – instructional self-talk, motivational self-talk, and self-explaining – can each play a major role in developing our knowledge and capabilities. Maybe you don’t want to talk out loud in your work-space and, if not, that’s O.K. I’m sure you can find a solitary space where you can practice this set of skills and use these to work on real issues that you need to address. Like any set of tools, practice is required to become comfortable with them and get to the point where it is natural to approach issues this way.<br />
So, as you have opportunity, you may want to give self-talk a try. It just might be valuable set of tools to have in your toolkit.<br />
Make it a great week. . . jim<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates, and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, and CIO, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.</em><br />
<br /><strong>References:</strong><br />
Ulrich Boser, <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/05/talking-to-yourself-out-loud-can-help-you-learn" target="_blank">Talking to Yourself (Out Loud) Can Help You Learn</a>, Harvard Business Review, May 2017.<br />
Kristin Wong, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/smarter-living/benefits-of-talking-to-yourself-self-talk.html" target="_blank">The Benefits of Talking to Yourself</a>, The New York Times, June 8, 2017.<br />
Gigi Engle, <a href="https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/people-talk-to-themselves/1105688" target="_blank">People Who Talk To Themselves Aren’t Crazy, They’re Actually Geniuses</a>, Elite Daily.com, July 2015.</p>
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Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:32:19 +0000Jim Bruce1023 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/talk-yourself-out-loud#commentsAre You A Micromanager?http://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/are-you-micromanager
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<div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h2><span style="color:#0000FF"><em>Who me? Never!</em></span></h2>
<p><br />
Most of us would disavow being a micromanager. Yet, I’m sure that most of us (dare I say, all of us?) have micromanaged to some extent at some points in our lives. I know that I have. And, most of us at some point have had a micromanager as our manager. David Allen, popular author and productivity consultant best known for his methodology “Getting Things Done,” suggests that most successful people he’s known could be characterized as “highly creative control freaks.” Most of us would call these individuals “micromanagers.” <br />
We properly desire to protect the work that we are responsible for. We are motivated for it to be done well, correctly in our mind, and certainly on time. However, overly protecting and controlling can be our downfall. Since we cannot do it all, we have to grow and mature our team and the systems they use or else the work doesn’t get done. To do this, we have, first, to learn to trust our team and then work to build that trust. You do this by creating a system and working it, so you can let go of lower level work, without letting go of the bigger picture of what you’re trying to accomplish. You build a trust-worthy system that you can trust.<br />
As we think about our managing, and how we likely do some micromanaging, it is helpful to ask what micromanaging looks like. <br />
Muriel Maigman Wilkins provides four sets of signs that we might look for:</p>
<ol><li>You are never completely satisfied with the deliverables you receive from your team. Something was left out, the hand-off to the client wasn’t smooth, the documentation wasn’t up to your standards, etc. </li>
<li> You feel frustrated because you would have done the task differently. You believe that it won’t be a good job unless your exact instructions are followed. You zero in on the details and take great pride in making changes so that the result is more to your liking.</li>
<li>You constantly want to know where all of your team members are and what they are working on.</li>
<li>You ask for frequent progress updates. You expect to be cc’d on emails. </li>
</ol><p>Yes, when you are managing it is important to make sure that the work is done with skill, to the expected specifications, and on time. It is easy to believe that these activities – day-to-day interaction at the lowest level of the work – are necessary for you to receive work from your team that meets your standards of excellence. However, unless your team members are really slacking off, not trained in what the job requires be done, not motivated, etc., such an in-your-face-all-the-time approach is not required. The leader needs to be more strategic. To get out of the weeds. To let go of the details and trust your team to handle them.<br />
In fact, a micromanaging approach negatively impacts your team, your organization, and yourself. It tanks individual and team morale. Productivity takes a hit. And, your team’s growth and learning is negatively impacted. You dilute your own productivity and you run out of capacity to get important things done. So much for this being a winning approach.<br />
Once you come to the conclusion that you are a micromanager or have tendencies to micromanage, and that you need to do something about it, what might you do? Four suggestions:</p>
<ol><li>Get over yourself. Stop rationalizing your micromanaging behavior as it leads to a disempowered, demoralized team. Rather than finding reasons to micromanage, focus on why you shouldn't. Excuses such as the following, do not justify your micromanagement:
<ol style="list-style-type:lower-alpha"><li>It will save time if I do it myself since they won’t get it right.</li>
<li>My credibility is on line. I can’t trust them to meet my standards.</li>
<li>It must be done on time. They missed a deadline once and I can’t take that risk again.</li>
<li>My boss wants me involved. I need to prove my worth. </li>
</ol></li>
<li>Focus on the managing, and not on the “micro.” Begin by letting go of the small things. Look for low-hanging fruit that you can delegate to your team. Create an environment for honest, open dialogue. Engage in explicit discussions with your direct reports about the level of detail you need to be engaged in and where they are expected to involve you. Be clear on your priorities, the things where you can add real value. And, make sure that is where you are expending your energy. </li>
<li>Delegate the “what,” not the “how.” It’s entirely proper to set a clear expectation about the deliverable and to indicate at a high level how you think the work might proceed. However, dictating the specifics of getting the result moves you into micromanaging. Your job as a manager is to clearly set the conditions of satisfaction for any task you assign. Articulate what you envision the final outcome to look like, but don’t give blow-by-blow instructions on how to get there. When in doubt, share the “what” and ask (not tell) your team "how" they plan to get there. It’s OK if their approach is different than yours would have been so long as the necessary result is achieved.</li>
<li>Expect to win (at least, most of the time). Underlying your need to micromanage is a fear of failure. By magnifying the risk of failure, your employees engage in “learned helplessness” where they start believing that the only way they can perform is if you micromanage them. Change your approach. Focus on setting your team up for success. Be clear what that success looks like. Provide the resources, information, and support they need. Give credit where credit is due. Over time, you may experience a loss from time to time but you’ll end up with a team with a strong track record.</li>
</ol><p>Many workers who work for micromanagers become timid and tentative, possibly paralyzed, thinking, no matter what I do, it won’t be good enough. At that point either the worker asks for guidance or forges ahead and possibly fails in the eyes of the manager.<br />
An effective manager sets up those around him or her to succeed, not fail. They set up the tasks so that the workers succeed and grow in their ability to take a project, identify new information they need, seek that information, and move forward.<br />
What can the micromanaged do to help the micromanager?</p>
<ol><li>Help your manager to delegate to you more effectively by prompting him or her to give you all the information you will need up front, and to set interim review points.</li>
<li>Volunteer to take on work or projects that you’re confident you’ll be good at. This will start to increase your manager’s confidence in you, and his or her delegation skills.</li>
<li>Have a plan that you have shared with your manager. Communicate progress on your plan, as well as any changes you’ve made, to your manager regularly to discourage him from seeking information just because he hasn’t had any for a while</li>
<li>Concentrate on helping your boss to change one micromanagement habit at a time. He or she is human too and is allowed to make mistakes.</li>
</ol><p>We all became managers and leaders from a time when we were individual contributors and team members. In those roles we either were told what to do or figured it out on our own. Both those situations set us up for being a micromanager. If we were always told what to do, it’s natural for us to tell our team members what to do in excruciating detail. If we figured it out for ourselves, we want to save our team from having to waste time figuring it out, so we tell them what to do.<br />
As I’ve argued in this essay this is wrong both for you and for the team. It’s demoralizing, leads to disappointment for you, and low performance for the team. Take the time this week to review how you assign work to your team and if there is any element of “micro” in it, begin the work of changing. Make it a great week for you and your team.<br />
. . . . jim<br />
<br /><em>Jim Bruce is a Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates, and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus, and CIO, Emeritus, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</em><br />
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<br /><strong>References: </strong> <br />
David Allen, <a href="http://gettingthingsdone.com/2017/10/are-you-micromanaging-your-mind-2/" target="_blank">Are you Micromanaging Your Mind?</a>, gettingthingsdone Blog, August 2007.<br />
Muriel Maigman Wilkins, <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/11/signs-that-youre-a-micromanager" target="_blank">Signs That You’re a Micromanager, Harvard Business Review</a>, November 2014.<br />
MindTools Content Team, <a href="https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_90.htm" target="_blank">Avoiding Micromanagement: Helping Team Members Excel – On their Own</a>, MindTools.com.<br />
Caterina Kostoula, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40481089/stress-is-making-you-micromage-which-is-making-everything-worse" target="_blank">Stress Is Making You Micromanage, Which Is Making Everything Worse</a>, FastCompany, October 2017.<br />
Forbes Coaches Council<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/05/19/micromanaging-heres-how-and-why-you-should-stop/#7780a3a77518" target="_blank">, Micromanaging? Here’s How (And Why) You Should Stop</a>, Forbes.com.</p>
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<div class="description"><div class="fivestar-summary fivestar-summary-average-count"><span class="average-rating">Average: <span >1</span></span> <span class="total-votes">(<span >1</span> vote)</span></div></div>
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</div><input class="fivestar-submit form-submit" type="submit" id="edit-fivestar-submit--10" name="op" value="Rate" /><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-MF-VlTQWvO_a_zTNNs8C1fdIcRpOCxSOnjtWssvuX9s" />
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="fivestar_custom_widget" />
</div></form></div>
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<div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://test.morassociates.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/post_icons/micromanaging.jpg?itok=Zwymhl0r" width="76" height="100" alt="" /></div>
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Tue, 07 Nov 2017 12:59:11 +0000Jim Bruce893 at http://test.morassociates.comhttp://test.morassociates.com/insight/jim-bruce/are-you-micromanager#comments